I fished a small stream yesterday with lots of trees and no room for overhead casting. Everything was either a roll cast or just kinda pitch it in the creek. I am thinking about buying a 2 or 3 wt 7.5 ft rod. Is this what I need?
yupp or do a snake cast and let the fly drift or bow and arrow cast.
Depending upon the size of fish and the size of fly your throwing, you might want to look here;
http://www.dorber.com/flyrods.html
Check out the ‘lil’ streamer rods. They are a sponsor here.
9ft rods are great …but not everywhere! I do a lot of small stream fishing with similar conditions and worse. I have a few short rods I use for these streams ranging from 6’ to 7.5’. just keep in mind that even with the shorter rods sometimes your still forced to flick the fly out there or do as “Fishfor” described …as backcasts sometimes still are not possible.
One thing more …along with a roll cast , snake, or bow and arrow… try this.
If your fish are down stream from you, “cast upstream”, parallel to the water (using this as your backcast) and then cast downstream. This may give you the distance that you need. Casting on small streams need not be pretty…the object is to put the fly where you need to , and modifying your techniques many times is required…Ed
ROFL…
Ummmm how about a pocketfisherman and a bobber?
Always my favorite for hiking into the mountains where you only get about 4 feet of ‘cast’ room…
Or truly - Just toss that there fly
Thanks for making my day.
One of my favorite pictures of JC doctored by my son James, thanks for reminding me.
Eric
bamboo 7’ 3wt is spectacular in that situation and can pull off any trick you may require.
just had to say it.
I’ve also a handful of graphite rods from a 6’6" 2wt to 3 rods up to 8’ in 3wt and all are well suited to smallstream fishing.
I’m with Mr. Blur. I’ve got a sweet little 7’6" John Channer 4 wgt bamboo rod that just loves places like that. It also likes more open areas where it can really lay out some line. Ah heck, that rod just likes to be fished.
REE
I was thinking bamboo rods too on small streams.
I fished a small grayling stream not long ago and an 8’ four weight bamboo rod was perfect. It was a great roll casting rod.l
How small is small? Like this:
In most cases my choice would be a short fiberglass rod. It will do anything you ask of it, load better than most rods in close and take a whack against a tree branch better than anything.
As far as length goes, it depends on a lot of things. To me, a 7’6" rod is for medium sized streams where there isn’t much chance of hitting a tree branch. For really small streams with lots of cover and where just moving about is a pain, out comes the really short rods. My go to rod for many of these spots is a 6’6" 3wt glass rod although I have rods as short as 5’0". While I do like as long a rod as I can get away with, sometimes fishing something too long is more aggravating.
Have fun with whatever you choose!
Smaller rods are always good idea…I enjoy my 7’ 3wt but have really enjoyed the 7.5’ 6 wt glass rod I got this season.
Only weighs a tad bit more than the three wt and the flexibilty really allows for some tight casting and I can chuck some larger flies with it since I mostly target warm water fish…hardly ever fishing for trout.
I use a 7 foot 3 wt boo or an old 7 foot 4 wt. orvis. When it really gets tight, I use a 5 foot (yes - 5 foot) 3 wt graphite overlined to a 6 wt. line. Sounds funky but the 6 wt line casts great under the tags and it rolls and mends like a champ. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll never use anything else for those small, brush choked, brookie creeks. Just don’t try to cast it very far.
Godspeed and good fishing,
Bob
I do a lot of small stream mountain fishing. Having 2-3 wt rods in the 7’ area is a very intricle rod to have in your collection. There are many rods in this catagory to fit the bill. One of my favorites is the Winston WT. Great rod and very easy to pack in.
I use a 7.5’ rod more often than anything else… and I usually fish in tight cover.
Sometimes I wish I had an even shorter rod (6’ or 6’6").
Short can be a good idea in smallwater situations, but remember to take into consideration the flies you’ll be throwing when you choose a line weight. I’ve got a 6’ 3wt. that I love for small streams as long as the flies are small too. I dig out the 7’6" 5wt when hoppers, beetles and the like are the fly of the day.
Bamboozle,
This is small for me.
Bob
Bob:
That was a picture of a stream where even a 7’0 rod will work. Here’s some 5’0" territory I fish:
Joe Humphreys has some excellent DVD’s on fishing in tight brush:
http://www.appoutdoors.com/joehumphreys/dvds.html
Highly recommended.
I am primarily a small stream fly fisher. I started out thinking I needed a short rod for tight cover, but the more i fish these small streams, the longer my rod length preference becomes. Right now, my favorite is 7’9".
Bamboozle, that size stream is familiar (and frustrating) to me. I know my 9 footer won’t work. But I’ve always worried that too short a rod just won’t cast. I hear stories of 2 wt. or 1 wt. or even lighter, so I suppose that’s a way to go. Anybody fish these rods on a regular basis? What would you suggest. I know of a small stream close by me, and I’ve seen little brookies in there - I’d love to give it a try.